GOP Congressman Calls for Climate Action (Video)

We've entered a political era in the United States that's distinctly hostile to climate science -- a pretty stunning number of the new Congressmen coming to the Hill next year claim that climate change isn't real, or that it isn't caused by man. Meanwhile, the science is stronger than ever: We're on the verge of wrapping up the hottest year in the global temperature records, and scientists continue to warn that greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet. But not all politicians are plugging their ears. This GOP congressman from South Carolina, for instance, gets it. In the video above, he articulately explains the threat posed by global warming. Too often, we break down climate politics around partisan lines -- I'm definitely guilty of doing so from time to time. And while a certain swath of the Republican party may currently be united in delivering the message that climate change isn't caused by man, there are others willing to speak out to defend climate science.

Above, Rep. Inglis' remarks can be read as a subtle dig at his fellow party members who've chosen to discount the scientific findings in favor of a more popular ideological message -- especially his crack about his colleagues staying at the Holiday Inn for a night and believing themselves climate experts.

But it's his wider message that speaks volumes; his urging for climate scientists to illustrate the truth about global warming to the public, and his call to listen to the "98 doctors" who are warning us that something's wrong -- as opposed to the two that say all is well. It's this sort of even-keeled talk about climate policy that we need to move a genuine debate forward. Of course, it's also worth noting that Inglis was voted out of his office for not being sufficiently conservative, and that his successor will likely have less sympathetic views towards addressing climate change.